[ageswitch]

[alanshore]

A walk to the beach and back hasn't improved matters much. Obvious predicament aside, he's become aware that he's no long accustomed to moving in this body. His posture's entirely wrong, the tilt of the chin absurd. His limbs feel not only ready but eager to move in several directions at once

Comments

[dale_cooper_fbi]

Dale hadn't noticed right away, dismissing the few unexpected occurences upon waking to a renewed vigor for life. It was only when he got a few stares upon leaving the caves, and spotted a number of unknown children running around, that he paused to take a look at himself in a pool of water and saw a face looking back that he hadn't seen in well over a decade.

The island was up to its tricks again, and this time Dale had been caught in its web, too. His first thought, when it was clear that there was no actual crisis in the works, was to find Sookie. And his first thought of where to find Sookie was at the beach.

Strangely, it was Alan who he recognized first, under that shock of very blond hair.

"My God," he said, staring from one to the other, and suddenly realised the magnitude of what was going on.

[alanshore]

Upon encountering someone he knew, Alan felt a surge of embarrassment. The staring did not improve matters.

"Dale." He passed about fifteen seconds frantically trying to avoid looking at the other man, eyes flitting from Sookie to the beach to the trees in the distance. It was futile, of course. "Afternoon."

[stacked_sookie]

"Dale!" Sookie beams at him, relieved to see him. He isn't five, thank the Lord for small favors, but he looks a lot younger than he used to. Not a lot lot, the way Mr. Shore does, but still... a lot.

"If this keeps goin' on, you're gonna have t' show me how t' find you in your cave. Next time, I'm comin' t' check on you whether you like it or not."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"I have two things to say to that," said Dale, grinning back. "One: I truly hope there will not be a next time; and two: I expect to be moved out of the caves very soon. Sookie! I almost didn't recognize you. And Alan... well I'm certainly glad I'm not the only one in this boat."

[alanshore]

"I'd rather there were fewer five-year-olds clambering over the bow," Alan said, "but yes."

All things considered, Dale didn't appear terribly taken-aback by the changes. In fact, his demeanor was almost cheerful.

[stacked_sookie]

Sookie pats the sand next to her, indicating that Dale should sit down.

"We had t' get outta the compound. It was just too crazy there t' stand it another second. Kitchen looked like a bomb hit it."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

Sookie had always been younger than him, but now she looked young. If it weren't perfectly clear that she was the same Sookie he'd always known, Dale might've been reluctant to join her. As it was, well, he seemed to have reverted to nearly half his age himself.

"I didn't even venture up there," he said, making himself quite comfortable on the sand. "The phenomenon seems to be quite widespread, though. I can't tell you how glad I am to have found the two of you."

[alanshore]

Alan took a seat on Sookie's opposite side and began rifling through the contents of their...picnic basket. As expected, everything had been tossed about, pancakes mashed, juice dribbling from the container holding the fruit salad.

"I take that to mean you haven't eaten." He passed the two plates to his companions and took a napkin for himself.

[stacked_sookie]

Sookie looks at the mess in the basket and kicks herself for not having checked on the way he packed had it before they left. She hadn't thought she needed to.

Oh well, it all ends up in your stomach anyway. That's what her Gran would have said.

"Thank you," she says. "I guess th' pie from last night was all gone. Too bad. Those grapes are good in a pie."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

Dale's stomach rumbled right on cue, much louder and more insistent than it normally would have been. "I was a little bit distracted," he admitted, taking the plate gratefully and peering into the basket. "I'd forgotten how demanding my body was at this age. What did you bring?"

[alanshore]

Alan raised an eyebrow at that first statement but made no comment. "Pancakes," he said, removing them from the basket and distributing them. "Fruit salad, fish. Bread. No wine, I'm afraid."

Ah, the factual. Such a nice change from discussing his hair or the sudden loss of twenty-eight years.

[stacked_sookie]

Sookie giggles. "That's good. I'm underage, anyway! I think you two are, too, at least in Louisiana!"

They're both so young!

"I'd card you if you tried t' drink in Merlotte's!" For some reason, she finds this hilarious.

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"You," said Dale, pressing the tip of her nose with his finger, "wouldn't have gotten in the front door to be able to card us in the first place. And I'm fairly certain I had fake ID at this age anyway." He folded his pancake in thirds and at it with his hands. "This is a pretty surreal day so far."

[alanshore]

"I had a best friend with the key to his mother's liquor cabinet," Alan volunteered. Balancing fruit salad on a napkin was a tricky business, but with some effort he persevered.

"I came across what looked to be a teenager with a teddy bear." He pointed up the beach with his fork. "Thereabouts."

[stacked_sookie]

Sookie makes a face at Dale when he beeps her nose that way, then pops a strawberry in her mouth. She picks up another strawberry and points at Alan.

"That sounds like normal island surreal t' me."

Extreme surreal is something like Alan Shore turning up blonder than she is.

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"I'd venture a guess there are a lot of kids with teddy bears on the island," said Dale, helping himself to more food. He wouldn't mention what age he was when he'd given up his own. "You know, I've seen plenty of strange things happen on this island, but this is the first time I've found myself caught up in one, in all this time. Except for the dinosaur hunt."